A POPSUGAR Best Book of December 2020An AMAZON Editors Pick December 2020A SHE READS Best Historical Fiction Novel Winter 2021A BUSTLE Most Anticipated Winter 2021 ReadA LIBRO.FM Influencer Pick, December 2020 Inspired by true events on Korea’s Jeju Island, Sumi Hahn’s “entrancing [debut] novel, brimming with lyricism and magic” (Jennifer Rosner, The Yellow Bird Sings) explores what it means to … (Jennifer Rosner, The Yellow Bird Sings) explores what it means to truly love in the wake of devastation.
In the aftermath of World War II, Goh Junja is a girl just coming into her own. She is the latest successful deep sea diver in a family of strong haenyeo. Confident she is a woman now, Junja urges her mother to allow her to make the Goh family’s annual trip to Mt. Halla, where they trade abalone and other sea delicacies for pork. Junja, a sea village girl, has never been to the mountains, where it smells like mushrooms and earth. While there, she falls in love with a mountain boy Yang Suwol, who rescues her after a particularly harrowing journey. But when Junja returns one day later, it is just in time to see her mother take her last breath, beaten by the waves during a dive she was taking in Junja’s place.
Spiraling in grief, Junja sees her younger siblings sent to live with their estranged father. Everywhere she turns, Junja is haunted by the loss of her mother, from the meticulously tended herb garden that has now begun to sprout weeds, to the field where their bed sheets are beaten. She has only her grandmother and herself. But the world moves on without Junja.
The political climate is perilous. Still reeling from Japan’s forced withdrawal from the peninsula, Korea is forced to accommodate the rapid establishment of US troops. Junja’s canny grandmother, who lived through the Japanese invasion that led to Korea’s occupation understands the signs of danger all too well. When Suwol is arrested for working with and harboring communists, and the perils of post-WWII overtake her homelands, Junja must learn to navigate a tumultuous world unlike anything she’s ever known.
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It is similar to the Island of Mermaids book but a little different perspective. Historical fiction at its best
Through interesting characters it gives a glimpse into a bit of history that is often forgotten.
The was a fascinating story. I enjoyed learning about what a Haenyeo (Female abalone divers) is and the sacrifices they made for their family to survive, Junja and her trials, the history went back in forth in time and the audiobook is a bit difficult to keep track of because of the constant switching between dates; I enjoyed this one though and learned quite a bit.
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
Listened to this one as an audiobook! The Mermaid from Jeju covers an important era of world history– set in Korea during a time of multiple, rapidly shifting occupations– as well as a current day timeline. I highly recommend checking it out in audio, if you like audiobooks. Dual narrators, lushly recorded. Really great novel for historical fiction fans
The Mermaid From Jeju was a good story it was very sad, and I really felt the sadness during the whole book but still was good.
The only complaint that I had is that I had a very hard time keeping tabs on the stories, I had to re-read a few times to understand what characters were speaking or why it was happening like this, the format of the book wasn’t finished at the moment so that made it harder but no worries I keep reading and enjoying the craziness of some of the situations that were happening on Junja’s life.
it was a hard book to read as I mentioned before because the sad feeling permeates the entire story and is written post WW2 but if you’re looking for a historical novel this one is good.
The story is written in two parts Junja’s and Junjan’s husband’s story. this is where I got a little confused. I did enjoy Junja story but her husband was a little tamed I mean I felt Junja was stronger characters and even bolder than her husband.. but that’s only what I felt while reading their story
I’m not going to write more details as I really don’t want to give away anything just enjoy the book and the amazing magic of each character.
I enjoyed this historical fiction and was intrigued by the history offered about what happened in Korea at the end of WWII and the Americans entered the scene. Fascinating and terrible. The story is primarily about Junja, a haenyeo (an elite group of women divers) in Jeju. The plot takes off right away as she convinces her mother she is mature enough to deliver seafood to a wealthy mountain family, a day’s journey from the coast where she lives. Along the way, she meets a young man, who turns out to be the son of the wealthy family, and is smitten.
The story could coast along on this plot line, but the author only allows us to enjoy this budding love for a brief moment before the war comes crashing in. I won’t spoil the plot for others, but I have to say there is a dichotomy between the first and second halves of the book that don’t mesh well. The tone and style are so different that they could be written by different people. I found myself wishing the first author stayed with the book. I give the first half five stars, but the second half only three stars. I found myself disappointed in the end.